This is 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' ('BOTB') where you listen to different recordings of the same song and vote for the one you like best. A new Battle gets posted on the 1st and 15th of each month and six days later, on the 7th and 21st, I place my own vote, tally 'em all up and announce the winner.

.

Friend? Foe? Stranger? No matter, ALL are welcome. So pull up a chair, pour yourself 24 oz. of DOG BITE High Gravity Lager (or the poison of your choice) and turn it up to Eleven!

.

[NOTE: Links to the first year of 'BOTB' (#1 - #24) can be found at the very bottom of this page.]

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

.
Did you know that Tiny Tim could sing high notes that only dogs could hear?

That's true. There's an Institute in Chicago that conducted this research and proved it be factual.

Personally, I prefer (many of) the notes Tiny Tim sang that I can hear. I mean, who cares about dogs anyway? Everyone knows that dogs and giraffes are selfish. The dogs hogging all the notes that others can't hear, and giraffes always looking out for Number One. Boy, giraffes are selfish!

In my last BOTB comment section I mentioned that I'm a genuine Tiny Tim fan. What an original character! I don't like all the stuffs he sang but once, years ago, I got out a calculator and calculated that I liked 57% of Tiny's recordings. Since then I've found plenty more I like, so maybe I'm up to about 66.6% now.

Below are two Tiny songs that appeared on his debut album. I really dig 'em and I know you're going to dig 'em, too.

In this first one, Nico of Lou Reed and 'The Velvet Underground' played the voice of Tuesday Weld. Listen and enjoy:

'THEN I'D BE SATISFIED WITH LIFE' - TINY TIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AHHyaGgQz0

Now here's a great anti-war song written by Irving Berlin which Tiny Tim made his own:'STAY DOWN HERE WHERE YOU BELONG' - TINY TIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txpwTG7KP3k

You're not going to tell me you disliked those two songs, are you? If so, I'm going to hit you with a shovel.

.Please bear with me as I present one more "TWISTED BOTB". For a lot of you, this may be your least favorite Battle Of The Bands that I've ever presented. Me, I think it's kind of funny and definitely different. But after this "TWISTED BOTB", I will be resuming "normal" BOTB installments again beginning on February 1st.What I'm doing today is presenting you with two very famous "Classic Rock" songs, both done in that slick "Lounge Act" style. You get to choose which one you like best (or which one you hate less). You can use any criteria for judging them that you please. Is one musically superior to the other? Do you prefer one vocalist to the other? Does one amuse you more than the other? Judge them on whatever you like, just vote for one over the other and tell us why you did.

So slip on your smoking jacket, light your pipe, and settle in and enjoy the music or relish the torture.

TINY TIM did cover a few other "Classic Rock" songs. In fact, I put his version of 'PEOPLE ARE STRANGE' up against Jim Morrison and The Doors in BOTB #17. Pretty gutsy, eh? The Doors won 6 to 3 but they couldn't toss a shutout at Tiny.

However, 'STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN' is the only Classic Rock cover I'm aware of in which Tiny Tim arranged it in a "Lounge" style. In this recording, Tiny is musically backed by Grammy Award-winning Brave Combo. Here's what Wackypedia says about them:

As part of their perceived artistic mission to expand the musical
tastes of their listeners, they have often played and recorded covers of
well-known songs in a style radically different from the original
versions. Examples include polka versions of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and The Doors' "People are Strange", The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as a cha-cha, and "Sixteen Tons" as a cumbia. While their records may have a sense of humor, they are played straight and not usually considered joke or novelty records.

Alright, take it away, Tiny Tim and Brave Combo. (Try to overlook the brief audio dropout early on and the unrelated music at the end.)

'STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN' - TINY TIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzrQrlm4M20 .

GODZILLA VS. KING KONG

.
Now there is a performer who routinely takes Classic Rock songs and reinvents them a la "Lounge". Here's Wackypedia:

Here's Richard Cheese And Lounge Against The Machine performing Pink Floyd's 'ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL' from the album 'The Sunny Side Of The Moon: The Best Of Richard Cheese':'ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL' - RICHARD CHEESE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zX2wqsrF3A

OK, which one did you like better or hate the least?.

RIDDLER VS. BATMAN

.

Alright
now, “you know the gig”... I welcome EVERYONE
to vote for their favorite of these songs in the comment section
below. And feel free to tell us WHY
you chose one song over the other. .After
voting here, I
suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to the blogs of the other
'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants to see which songs they have
chosen and vote there also.
(If their ‘BOTB’ blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two
shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice
– and then return to their blogs to vice
your voice
...vote
your vice
...voice your vote.).Voice
Your Vote
@ ‘FARAWAYSERIES’
by clicking HERE.@
‘TOSSINGITOUT’
by clicking HERE.@
‘YOURDAILYDOSE’
by clicking HERE.@
‘DISCCONNECTED’
by clicking HERE.@
'BOOKLOVER'
by clicking HERE.@
'MIKE'SRAMBLINGS'
by clicking HERE.@
'CURIOUSASACATHY'
by clicking HERE.@
'THESOUNDOFONEHANDTYPING'
by clicking HERE.@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLEOFTHEBANDS' by clicking HERE.@ 'THISBELLEROCKS' by clicking HERE. @ 'ALEXCAVANAUGH' (when BOTB falls on a Mon., Wed., or Fri.) by clicking HERE. .As
I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog
bits on the 7th and 21st of each month to post my own votes and
announce the winners in the comment sections..~
Stephen T. McCarthy.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

[Margaritas: Where Sobriety Goes To Die!]To steal a line from ol’ Ernie ‘Mr. Cub’ Banks:"It's a beautiful day for a margarita... Let's drink two!".“IT’S MARGARITA DAY”, sung to the tune of “It’s Howdy Doody
Time.” The lyrics are not too terribly complicated so you should be able
to learn them quickly.

.This being a new year, I'm a-gonna do something completely different. Yes, I mean that literally. Well, sort of. Maybe about half literally. I guess I mean it ltrly.

This is a slightly twisted BOTB. Think of it as a lime wedge in a Margarita. I am also planning another slightly twisted BOTB installment for January 15th. But beginning in February I'll be going back to presenting my "Battles" the way they're meant to be - you know, two different versions of thesamesong for you to select from.However, today I am putting the legendary proto-Punk youth anthem 'MY GENERATION' by The Who up against a much lesser known, updated and lyrically different version of the idea.There's probably no one who hasn't heard the famous Who song with its deliberately stuttered vocals and the often quoted line "I hope I die before I get old". Nevertheless, listen to it again. And please remember that although both of these videos below are rather fun to watch, this is really all about the music:

'MY GENERATION' - THE WHO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN5zw04WxCc

.

GODZILLA VS. KING KONG

.
Some years ago, my friend DiscConnected turned me on to Todd Snider and after one listen to his debut album, 'Songs For The Daily Planet', I went right out and bought myself a copy of it. Snider's clever wordplay immediately elevated him, in my opinion, to the highest echelon of lyricists, occupied by only two other songwriters: Bob Dylan and (early) Tom Waits.

Snider can write both humorous and moving songs. 'My Generation (Part 2)', the first song on Snider's first album, is funny, although he has also written one of my all-time favorite Gospel songs, 'Somebody's Coming'. And his song 'Long Year' probably sums up my 2014 better'n any other song I could think of.

Give a listen and then decide whose Generationsong you like best, The Who's or Todd Snider's:

'MY GENERATION (PART 2)' - TODD SNIDER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0LS-RAsuaE

.

RIDDLER VS. BATMAN

.

Alright
now, “you know the gig”... I welcome EVERYONE
to vote for their favorite of these songs in the comment section
below. And feel free to tell us WHY
you chose one song over the other.

After
voting here, I
suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to the blogs of the other
'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants to see which songs they have
chosen and vote there also.
(If their ‘BOTB’ blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two
shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice
– and then return to their blogs to vice
your voice
...vote
your vice
...voice your vote.).Voice
Your Vote
@ ‘FARAWAYSERIES’
by clicking HERE.@
‘TOSSINGITOUT’
by clicking HERE.@
‘YOURDAILYDOSE’
by clicking HERE.@
‘DISCCONNECTED’
by clicking HERE.@
'BOOKLOVER'
by clicking HERE.@
'MIKE'SRAMBLINGS'
by clicking HERE.@
'CURIOUSASACATHY'
by clicking HERE.@
'THESOUNDOFONEHANDTYPING'
by clicking HERE.@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLEOFTHEBANDS' by clicking HERE. @ 'THISBELLEROCKS by clicking HERE. @ 'ALEXCAVANAUGH' (when BOTB falls on a Mon., Wed., or Fri.) by clicking HERE. .As
I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog
bits on the 7th and 21st of each month to post my own votes and
announce the winners in the comment sections..~
Stephen T. McCarthy.YE
OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However,
ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated
(read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com,
so
I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.

Liberty

Follow by Email

Search This Blog

About Me

STEPHEN = The first person known to have been martyred because of their personal testimony of Jesus Christ (Acts 6-7). My foremost allegiance is to my Holy King, Jesus, who has been given all authority in Heaven and on Earth, and to His God who bestowed it upon Him (Matt. 28:18; John 20:17). ----- T. = Thoreau, as in Henry David Thoreau, the writer and staunch abolitionist who, in 1849, penned the classic essay 'Civil Disobedience' wherein he wrote: "I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave's government also." I abhor slavery and injustice in all of their forms! ----- McCARTHY = The Wisconsin Senator, Joseph McCarthy, one of America's greatest heroes, and the most unjustly vilified individual in our country's history! His unappreciated, rebuffed efforts to expose Communist infiltration of our government transformed this embattled man's name into a pejorative catchword: McCarthyism. If you still believe that Joseph McCarthy was the most evil American of the Twentieth Century, educate yourself today. Go to... http://www.knology.net/~bilrum/mccarthy.htm ...and see how you've been misled.